Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Jan 25/02) - Be it knife handles, wooden pen and pencil sets, pool cues or gun stocks, Norm Prevost holds the secret to preserving wood.

Through his business, Canadian Sub Arctic Wood Stabilization Industries, Prevost hardens and strengthens wood through an effective high-pressure, chemical process.

Using a highly-guarded formula, Norm Prevost has stabilized everything from walking sticks, ivory and other types of bone. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

He has done work for Fort Simpson knife-makers and for a company that makes knives and swords for Hollywood fantasy films. He has also shipped orders to Alberta, Quebec, Minnesota and has even made sales in France.

Prevost, an electrician, and friend Dan Quevillon started the business two years ago. Quevillon, a Fort Simpson knife-maker, decided there's no reason why his knife handles couldn't be made locally.

"He (Quevillon) asked me, 'How would you like to start figuring out how to do this?" Prevost recalled.

At first, they contacted others in the stabilization industry for tips.

"Nobody would tell us anything," Prevost said.

So they spent a little more than a year mixing "lots of different things" in Prevost's shop. Finally, with some help from chemical engineers online, they came up with a chemical concoction that did the trick. The liquid is thinner than water and lighter than gasoline, according to Prevost.

"I don't know if my Grade 11 and 12 chemistry class is helping me or not," he joked. "It's a fun hobby."

He has treated a wide variety of woods including ash, birch, caragana, maple, sequoia, redwood and eucalyptus. As well as stabilizing the product, he can dye the wood any colour.

The process isn't limited to wood. Prevost has also stabilized moose and buffalo bone, caribou and moose antlers, ivory, mushrooms and walrus penises.

"Just about anything that's organic and holds itself together under extreme pressure, I can stabilize it," he said. The process takes about 48 hours, during which he sleeps in short shifts, he said.

However, some oily woods, such as rosewood and coco bolo, do not respond well to stabilization. Whatever the product, it must be thoroughly dried. When it's done properly, stabilizing will approximately double the weight of the wood, Prevost said.

Just don't ask him for his secret.

"Only Dan (Quevillon) and I know it. We've never written it down. It's only in our heads," he said.